Immersive shopping experience Holiday House SRQ brings magic to Sarasota students in need

Samantha Gholar, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read
The Holiday House experience provides disenfranchised students in local Sarasota schools the opportunity to "shop" for gifts for their families. School space is transformed into a magical shopping experience for students.
The Holiday House experience provides disenfranchised students in local Sarasota schools the opportunity to "shop" for gifts for their families. School space is transformed into a magical shopping experience for students.

More holiday magic via an immersive holiday and shopping experience is in the works for Title I students at select district schools this week as a group of local parents prepares for a third run of the emerging tradition called Holiday House SRQ.

What was once a parent-run initiative, Holiday House SRQ returns this year as a newly formed 501c3 non-profit organization to continue to spread holiday magic for students at three local Sarasota County elementary schools — Wilkinson, Emma E. Booker, and Alta Vista.

The Holiday House is an interactive holiday experience that provides “shopping” opportunities for students.

Parent volunteers take the experience a step further each year by transforming a portion of each of the selected schools into a Christmas village filled with lights, snow, and holiday decor. Each student selects up to five gifts for themselves and their family members. As they wait for their classroom's turn to shop, parent and community volunteers entertain students with gift wrapping, holiday crafts, Christmas cookie decorating, a holiday read-aloud, and other holiday and winter-themed activities.

This year, about 1,700 Sarasota County elementary students will experience Holiday House SRQ.

Parent organizer for Holiday House, Megan Baxter, says the initiative continues to expand, bringing more than just toys and gifts to many students in need.

Holiday House 2022: Holiday House experience debuts at Wilkinson Elementary this week

"It's not just gifts. You learn about the teachers at each school and children and all these needs that we didn't know existed. Through Holiday House we have begun to address the other needs that come to light and the challenges these students and families might face beyond the holiday season," Baxter said.

After learning about a "shoe room" at Alta Vista Elementary (which provides shoes for enrolled students in need on the campus) Baxter and the seven-person team for Holiday House purchased 500 pairs of shoes to replenish the school's inventory to ensure students have one of their most basic needs beyond the holiday season.

Holiday House's leadership team identified a unique need at Wilkson Elementary this year, too.

As part of this year's initiative, over $1,000 of overdue and unpaid library fees will be paid off during the school's Holiday House.

"I feel like it's a testament to the schools and the parents behind this, to be able to make these connections and get inside these schools and not only give to them but uncover some of these needs. It's really a great feeling knowing this started small; it was just a simple idea to go in and give the kids this experience and it just turned into this incredible project," Baxter said.

Holiday House SRQ will take place simultaneously at Alta Vista, Booker, and Wilkinson elementary schools from Dec. 4-6. Over 5,000 gifts will go home to local Title 1 students and their families this year.

For additional information about Holiday House SRQ contact holidayhousesrq@gmail.com, or follow the link to the Holiday House Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/holidayhousesrq/.

To register as a volunteer at one of the three schools, visit Holiday House SRQ Sign Up Genius. To donate to help the organization reach its $30,000 fundraising goal, visit the Holiday House GoFundMe page.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Whimsical holiday shopping experience helps young Sarasota children